I set up WCSUK back in April 2011 because I remember how lonely and scared I felt when I was going through my womb cancer treatment and I figured that there must be other women out there who felt the same; and I was right.
Slowly the numbers of women joining the FB page grew and it now stands at over 1,500. We have a private chat group available where the women are able to chat in complete privacy. The ladies there are so supportive of each other and are there for each other through the good times and the bad times and believe me, there are plenty of both.
WCSUK has a great social network presence – we are on Facebook and Twitter; we have a website and a Youtube channel; an awareness board on Pinterest and I have written countless articles and blog posts for various websites, not to mention our own blog that is on the website.
Although WCSUK started out as a support organisation we soon started to raise awareness as it became apparent that there was very little known about womb cancer. Many of the women, myself included, had never heard of it before being diagnosed.
So every September since 2011, we have used that month as our awareness month. It is used in US as Uterine cancer awareness month so we followed suit.
In 2013 we had our first meet up in Birmingham and around 2 dozen women from around the UK descended on the city for a weekend of fun and awareness raising. It was such a success that we went back in 2014 and did it all again, and plans are underway for a return visit in 2015.
Being a small voluntary organisation with no funding has made it hard to get the word out but little by little we have managed to raise awareness. We work very much on a grass roots level basis. Many of the women who have come to us and found support have helped to spread the word by distributing our cards to help other women find us and also taking our awareness leaflets and leaving them at GP surgeries, clinics, libraries etc.
Some of the women shared their stories on the blog and some even shared their story with national media to get the word out about womb cancer and raise awareness.
It has been a long and often difficult 4 years. I have done nothing but eat, sleep and breath WCSUK and at times it has taken a heavy toll on my own health; I often spend 6 to 8 hours a day doing WCSUK related stuff and I think the time has come for me to take a step back, safe in the knowledge that we have achieved so much but also knowing that there are now others who are doing wonderful work in raising awareness of womb cancer.
In July it will be 5 years since my treatment ended, and despite the fact that I am living with ongoing health problems as a result, I want to regain some me time and start living for me again. It’s not been an easy decision to make and I have no intention of walking away from WCSUK but I’m just taking a step back and hoping to enjoy and appreciate life a little bit more rather than being tied to the laptop all day.
The support will still be there and the awareness will continue to be raised but I also need to take a step back in order to get my life back.
Thank you for all your support and encouragement over the past 4 years and I hope you will continue to help WCSUK raise awareness of this cancer that affects almost 9,000 women each year in UK.
xx Kaz xx